The Falsehood of “REST in PEACE” Wishes for the Dead
It seems at death, even the vilest of sinners suddenly becomes a saint. His enemies are suddenly at peace with him and ushering him to heaven with “rest in peace” wishes and all manner of flowery speeches. People honor the dead more than the living. But who is fooling who? All the “REST IN PEACE” wishes cannot change a person’s eternal destination. Sinners go to hell. Those who have not accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and truly lived for him cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. All our flowery words cannot change that fact.
God cannot be bribed or swayed by flowery epilogues and eulogies for the dead. He is an impartial judge who shall give every man according to his deeds (1 Peter 1;17, Romans 2:6, Revelation 22:12). Being a good person, a rich person, or a famous person does not give you a first-class ticket to heaven. It is only the person, name, and blood of Jesus Christ that gives access to heaven.
Only the truly born-again rest in peace
Only those who are truly born again will enter his kingdom (John 3:3). And the born-again are known by their nature, which has been transformed into the image of their savior. The Holy Spirit dwells in them. Ye shall know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16). But in modern-day funerals, even robbers, fornicators, adulterers, corrupt politicians, haters of Jesus, drunkards, and liars are suddenly saints heading to heaven. May God have mercy on this wicked and perverse generation.
This is why we must never use the term “rest in peace” for the dead. We may be found great liars using these words for those who are in the torments of hell. The last day of judgment shall reveal who is really in heaven or not. It is not our opinions, speeches, or estimations that qualify souls for heaven.
Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Those are the words of Jesus himself. And so we can know for a fact that a person who was not born again has not gone to his kingdom. Why then do we say, “Rest in peace; God loved you more.” and such nonsense? Is it not to deceive ourselves so that we think everyone shall enter heaven no matter how they live? Be not deceived; God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). If a man has sown sin and rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior while alive, he shall not suddenly reap heaven when he dies. Take heed that no one deceives you with empty words (Ephesians 5:6).
The deception of deathbed conversions
And don’t talk about deathbed conversions. Everyone wants to think that sinners suddenly repent on their deathbeds. This is a great deception that Satan delights in. A man cannot reject Jesus all his life and then mumble a half-hearted fake repentance prayer on his deathbed and enter heaven. God is not mocked; he knows men’s hearts. If that’s all it took to enter heaven, then Jesus died in vain. We would all troop into heaven through deathbed confessions after living all our lives for sin and Satan.
How foolish do we think God is? He knows all hearts. Very few people get genuinely born again on their deathbeds. Most people who rejected Jesus all their lives for a life of sin die exactly as they lived. God does not accept fake get-out-of-hell-free prayers at the last second. If you rejected Jesus all your life, why should he accept you because you’re on your deathbed and scared of hell? He says whoever is ashamed of him before men, he will be ashamed of before his father and the Holy Angels (Mark 8:38).
Let the dead bury their own dead
Death should be a time of solemn self-examination. The dead man or woman has gone to face his eternal home and judgment. We cannot change their fate. We therefore should not concern ourselves with lying about where they are and what kind of people they were. That will not help them or us. Instead, our attitude should be that of Jesus, who told the man who wanted to bury his father, “Let the dead bury their dead: but you go and preach the Kingdom of God (Luke9:60).”
Jesus here shows us that the Christian should not be carried away by funerals or the dead. It is the living dead who make a whole show at funerals for the dead. But the living saints should follow Jesus. We should mourn with those who mourn, preach the kingdom of god, and examine ourselves and our readiness for eternity.
Hailing praises to the dead is not for the children of God. A great many lies and hypocrisies are carried out in funerals, which the child of God should not participate in. Don’t be quick to say “rest in peace,” lest you too be partakers of the sins of the ungodly who say “‘peace, peace’ when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). Hold your peace and mourn for yourself and those who are living, for they have a chance to change their eternal fate. Jesus never wasted time over the dead except where he was raising them. We don’t see him attending funerals. We don’t see any record of funeral “celebrations” in the New Testament.
If the dead could speak
I suspect if many a dead man or woman could speak at their funeral, they would rebuke the living and tell them to stop speaking lies because “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). They would wish instead to send warnings to their loved ones and attendees at the funeral to “repent! save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts 2:38,40) because they have become first-hand witnesses that hell is real and only Jesus is the way, truth, and life. No man comes to the Father but by him (John 14:6).
“There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22
Beloved, be wise and not unwise. Eternity is beckoning to every one of us. Be sure that you are ready to meet your God. Do not take the chance by following vain and empty philosophies and words that hold no power. Jesus is the only way to heave. Those who give him their lives and take his life, truly rest in peace.
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Have you given your life to Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? He loves us so much that he, our creator, left heaven and came to earth, died for us on the cross taking our sins upon him so that we may be forgiven and receive his righteousness. He conquered death by rising from the dead and made a way for us who were dead in sin to be reconciled back to the Father (God). What’s more, he has prepared a wonderful home for us in heaven, where those who love him and obey him will spend eternity with him. Learn more here about how to be born again and have eternal life after this brief life on earth.
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